This invention relates to an improved low-cost combined nail file and clip attachment for writing implements and the like.
Inasmuch as people are constantly having difficulty keeping nail files handy for grooming their nails, it has been previously indicated in the art that a writing implement is an ideal and handy place on which to attach a fingernail file This is especially desirable since the fingernail file can be adapted to further function as a clip for attaching the writing implement to the pocket of a person's clothing, for example.
An example of the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,932 issued to W. C. F. Ehrmann on Apr. 6, 1937. This patent discloses a relating complicated structure wherein a sheath is permanently attached to a writing implement and a tongue of a clip is disposed to be longitudinally adjustable in the sheath. Only the upper arcuate face of the tongue is abraded. The disadvantage of this prior art attachment is that it is cumbersome to use since when it is adjusted for use as a clip it is not effective as a fingernail file and when it is adjusted for use as a fingernail file it is not effective as a clip.
An example of an attachment for a writing implement which overcomes the short comings of the prior art in that it is always readily available for use as a fingernail file or as a clip is disclosed in a copending application of the present inventor, Ser. No. 702,772, filed on July 7, 1976. Therein, a removable attachment is disclosed wherein the holder therefor and the tongue for the clip which serves as a nail file are formed from separate pieces of metal. Such attachments are costly to manufacture and are not compatabile for use on low-cost writing implements.
In order to minimize the cost of its manufacture, the combined nail file and clip attachment of the present invention is formed from a T shaped blank stamped from a thin sheet of metal. Both the tongue of the clip whose outer surface is coated with an abrading material to enable it to function as a nail file and the holder for the clip which is circularly formed to embrace the cylindrical body of the writing implement are integrally formed from the T shaped blank. In order to provide a sufficiently wide surface as needed to serve as a nail file, the longitudinal strip of the T shaped blank is necessarily made wider than tongues of conventional clips. Hence, although in a conventional T shaped blank the transverse strip is joined directly to the upper end of the longitudinal strip portion, when the latter is widened a problem is created in forming the transverse strip portion into the circular holder for engaging the cylindrical body of the writing implement. This is because the widened longitudinal strip portion makes it difficult to curve the transverse strip portion as needed to form the circular holder, while at the same time keeping the longitudinal strip portion flat as desired for a nail file. Moreover, when using a widened longitudinal strip portion on the T shaped blank, it is difficult if not impossible to form the transverse strip portion into a circular holder and reposition the holder thereafter relative to the longitudinal strip portion without causing the metal in the vicinity of the juncture of these strips to fracture.
The nail file clip attachment of the present invention overcomes this difficulty by employing a T shaped blank in which the short transverse strip portion is not joined directly onto the upper end of the widened longitudinal strip portion but is joined, rather, by way of a narrowed connecting link.
Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to modify a T shaped blank when used to form a nail file and clip attachment so as to permit the longitudinal strip portion thereof to be widened for use as the nail file.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost combined nail file and clip attachment for a writing implement which is formed from a modified T shaped blank of thin sheet metal.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide for joining a short transverse strip portion to the upper end of a longitudinal strip portion by use of an integral narrowed connecting link which permits the transverse strip portion to be curved and repositioned relative to the longitudinal strip portion to provide a combined nail file and clip attachment for a writing implement.
With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.